During our digital information age, one of the most important things you can learn is to understand computer language. In an era wherein computers are integral to societal functions, coding has become widely relevant and very useful in many applications. Providing the effort to learn how to code seems to be an investment many are making and one that you can also easily do with the right knowledge and appropriate sources.
Learning has been made tremendously easier with the advent of the internet and online courses. Anyone can find a coding and data science course online with just a few clicks and start educating themselves immediately. As you, therefore, invest time and effort into learning, know the following to facilitate your coding journey.
Online places to learn:
Many online platforms offer free comprehensive courses that teach you all the basics. EdX and Coursera offer introductory courses from different universities with challenging assessments that will integrate the lessons previously learned. In addition to this, Udemy and Codecademy are also platforms where these courses can be found. Do not hesitate to consult these platforms to check out their offerings to start your coding journey.
Learn the fundamentals:
Before learning complicated code, a good understanding of the coding language you are learning is a must. While lines of code for any language can be found online for easier usage in your program, doing so will circumvent your learning process and you will be unable to learn how the codes work. Therefore, the most effective and efficient way to truly learn to code is to invest a significant amount of time and effort in learning all the basics before focusing on more complicated code.
Take breaks:
Programming can be exhausting. After writing thousands of lines of code, it might not work or may contain bugs within it. Taking considerable time in writing the code is only half of the battle as the programmer will also have to debug their code for any logical mishaps or syntax errors. This being the case, it is essential to take breaks throughout the coding journey because not doing so will exhaust your mental capacity. Therefore, effectiveness in coding deteriorates and it may take you longer to perform your tasks as opposed to when you are well-rested.
Ask for help:
When stuck or require new ideas, do not hesitate to consult the internet or teachers who have extensive knowledge on the topic. In doing so, you may be corrected on things you have assumed and were doing incorrectly. Furthermore, you can learn new things or adopt new perspectives provided by these sources, allowing you to learn more about the topic at hand. Ask for help in moderation as in doing so, you may be tempted to continuously ask for help without learning anything.
Learning to code takes some time but starting takes only a few seconds. Through this, you can envision how you might want to start your very own programming journey.